I'm coming home, I've done my time

Autumnal, see?

Eh bien. C'est ça, la fin de mon grand tour de l'Europe. Et j'espère le commencement d'une nouvelle aventure. But that's for another time...

Today got off to the slowest start yet - it was 10.45 before I got on the metro to Notre Dame. Of course, I'd stopped for coffee on the way...

Notre Dame is, I think, one of the most architecturally stunning churches I've ever seen - I am a bit of a sucker for baroque though ;-) I stood outside for ages in the warm sunshine (the rain that was forecast yesterday and today never materialised) just taking it all in. It being Sunday, there was a mass being conducted inside, though they still let visitors in. As I've mentioned, I'm not religious, but I wanted to slap some people and ask them if "silence please" in about 6 different languages meant nothing to them. Very rude :-/

Wandered along the Île de la Cité then to Sainte-Chapelle which, upstairs, has 15 huge (I don't know, maybe 40 feet high?), incredibly detailed stained glass windows (I am also a sucker for stained glass!). There was a bit of a queue, but it was well worth it.

And when I came out later, a complete stranger told me he loved me :-) Of course, something else told me you wouldn't find much stranger...

Had a bit of a wander round the bird market - no, not a euphemism for a load of stalls selling women from Newcastle, an actual market selling birds and avian paraphernalia. There was one rogue stall selling dog chews as well...

Then a quick lunch and time for the off. Back to the hotel to pick up my bags and get the Air France bus to the airport - you don't have to fly with them, they'll let any old riff raff on!

And now I'm home, thanks to Scoobs and the GM who were waiting for me at the airport, on the sofa with a cuppa and QI on the telly. It all feels a bit odd just yet, and I wonder if I might be a bit disorientated in the morning?

It's funny, I was quite emotional walking into the baggage hall at the airport. I was both happy and sad to be home - it's been an amazing journey, and one I don't think I'll have the opportunity to do it again. And yet I've missed my home, my family and my friends. I've even missed work, believe it or not!

So, a couple of days to recover and try to tame the garden, then life gets back to normal. I'm looking forward to it.

Good evening friends x

ps I'll overlook the lack of yellow ribbons...